What’s the Best Social Media Site for Discussions?
Maybe you’ve joined all kinds of social media sites in order to share your own content. And now you’re saying now what? Maybe you’d like to have conversations and some engagement on those sites. Maybe you’d like an actual discussion. Where would you begin? By the way, you might like my article on engagement: For Better Social Media Results, Focus on Engagement.
Lines Are Blurring Between Sites
In some ways, the lines between the different sites are blurring. Facebook looks a lot like LinkedIn (and vice-versa) these days. You can scroll, like, share, etc. And video is becoming more popular across all sites.
Smaller Sites Offer Discussion
Some lesser-known sites offer opportunities for discussions, such as Quora and Reddit, but then again, are your customers and friends there? If they are, then, by all means, join them. But if they’re not, maybe it’s better to go where the people are. The 21 top social media sites for 2019 (from Buffer) are those with the most users. But wait! That doesn’t necessarily mean you should be on Snapchat!
Larger Sites May Be Better for Discussions
If you’re looking to connect with more people, the larger sites tend to attract more people. Here are some of the benefits of each:
Twitter is very good for chatting with a group, focused on a specific topic. Tweet chats are plentiful and seem to be making a comeback. I’ll be writing more about Twitter chats, and started writing a TweetChats: Your Complete Guide. Here is Part One.
On Facebook, you can have a discussion, and it’s a bit easier to follow threads. You may want to start the discussion at a particular time (when your audience is online) by checking your analytics.
On LinkedIn, you can also follow threads, similar to Facebook. On LinkedIn, it’s good to post at times when your audience is online, too. Early in the morning is good, and so is right after dinner time.
YouTube is becoming more and more popular, and is the largest search engine, after Google. How-to videos, in particular, do very well, and there’s plenty to discuss there.
If you market to Millennials, and especially women, Pinterest is a great place to be. 80-90% of Pinterest’s users are women. Recently, Pinterest went public and has been doing well.
Do You Have a Favorite Place for Discussions?
Maybe you like to comment on blog posts! Or maybe you like Facebook. Do tell!
Hi Carol,
Another thoughtful post.
I’ve focused on certain sites. Twitter is tops in discussion for me and Instagram gets comments and responses but not really discussions.
I visit other’s Facebook pages every once in a while since I pretty much gave up using it for my business. Too much suppression of posts and pushing of ad buying to succeed. I keep my FB profile to stay in business groups and to see family posts.
I consider Pinterest a search engine and have been using it for more marketing. I don’t ever remember much conversation on there though.
Regards,
Patricia
Hi Patricia,
Thanks so much. Twitter has been my number one for discussions for quite a while. And like you, Instagram gets a few comments here and there, but not really a discussion that’s ongoing.
Facebook seems to be getting sillier with each passing day. We’re in accord there for sure. I still like it for keeping in touch with what friends and family are doing, and for looking at photos.
I’m using LinkedIn more for finding content, but not so much for discussion yet. And I’m with you on Pinterest. It’s focused on the future, on projects, recipes, etc. that I’d like to do later.
Thanks, Patricia!
Carol
This one’s easy; Twitter! Of course Twitter’s also hard if you decide to have an opinion on something because of the potential vitriol. Many people think Facebook is worse, but it’s easier to get away from than a Twitter bomb… at least for most people. Still, it’s my favorite for many reasons.
Hi Mitch,
I’m so glad your favorite is Twitter (me, too!). I guess because I’ve met so many wonderful people on Twitter. My ROI is all the friendships I’ve gained there. I don’t remember making any friends through Facebook. It’s easier to join someone else’s conversation on Twitter, in my opinion. You don’t have to follow if you don’t want to.
Thank, Mitch!
Carol
I have no idea how twitter work. Youtube and Facebook look easy to use.
Hello Deepak,
Twitter does take a little time to learn, but it’s not difficult. Facebook is more intuitive to use. YouTube is perhaps more straightforward than Twitter.
Thanks for stopping by.
Carol